#Archaic#Greek#bronze#Statuette of a #Horse
Late 6th - early 5th century B.C.
H: 7.9 cm - Length: 11.7 cm
Ex-private collection; acquired on the European art market in 1991.
The tail, lower jaw and legs are lost or incomplete (a thigh is partially reglued). Dark brown surface, with a green patina and superficial corrosion.
Solid cast statuette.
The horse, a stallion with a mane of short and stiff hair, is standing
upright, walking slowly forward with its neck stretched out straight. This piece is characterized by a remarkable artistic quality; the #sculptor admirably alternated the modeled and rounded
volumes, and the incised details.
The lack of harnesses, reins, rider or other specific elements does not enable us to determine the original purpose of the statuette: it might have been a simple ex-voto, a sort of follower of the tradition of #Geometric horses, a figurine adorning the rim of a krater (like the examples applied on the large kraters of #Vix or #Capua ) or a figurine belonging to a group. The horse would have been part of a team of two or four animals, ready to go into a chariot race or to a prize ceremony for the winner of a competition (who, in the Greek world, was not the charioteer but the owner of the coupling). Among closest parallels, one should mention a slightly larger statuette, now housed in the #metropolitanmuseumofart whose chronology, first established in the 5th century B.C., was lately reviewed and fixed to the #Hellenistic period.
#Domesticated much later than the #bovids , horses appear in ancient #cultures only from the Bronze Age, especially from the 2nd millennium B.C. They were expensive animals, more delicate and
less helpful than steers and sheep: however, in many ancient civilizations, owning a horse quickly became a sign of distinction and social prestige, that only the highest classes of society could afford.#antquities#beautyofancientart#phoenixancient

Geometric jewelry just gets me, ya know? ⠀
I love the contrast not only between the hexagon and circles, but ALSO the pastel colors in these vintage earrings😭⠀
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It’s like some genius thought, maybe we should just mash contrasting opposites into ONE earring and see what happens- and what happened was magic. ⠀
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